NATIONAL University upended Adamson, 58-54, in a grind-it-out affair to seize the solo lead in the UAAP men’s basketball tournament at the Mall of Asia Arena.

The Bulldogs withstood a stirring Falcons fightback from 10 points down in the final six minutes to chalk up their third straight victory – and the fourth overall in five games.

“At least we will take this win, kasi Adamson is a very strong team also,” said NU coach Jeff Napa. “Nag-bleed kami up to the last minute, hindi sumuko ang Adamson.”

The Bulldogs were able to prevail despite being outhustled by the Falcons in the boards, 40-48.

“Still, we were not satisfied how we performed because we were outrebounded. Ang dami naming ibinigay sa paint area na points. Kailangan naming i-address ito, we have to correct even though we got the W.”

Bucking the absence of last season’s Mythical Team member Mike Phillips, La Salle rediscovered its winning ways with a 87-70 rout of Far Eastern University in the first game.

Phillips was ruled out due to a right hamstring tightness, but it hardly mattered as the Green Archers raced to a 50-25 halftime lead and never looked back to raise their record to 3-2 in fourth spot.

In the women’s division, Kristine Cayabyab and Karl Pingol combined for 38 points and 17 rebounds as seven-peat seeking NU withstood Dindy Medina’s 28-point outburst to beat Adamson, 100-66, to extend its historic winning run to 101 games.

Cameroon’s Fina Niantcho had 16 points and 19 rebounds while Charmine Torres also scored 16 points as La Salle took its third straight win and the fourth overall in five games following a 65-58 romp of FEU.

John Lloyd Clemente led th Bulldogs with 14 points, while Mike Malonzo scored five of his seven points in the last three minutes that cooled down the Falcons uprising.

Adamson, which drew 12 points and eight boards from Cedrick Manzano, fell to 2-3.

The Green Archers also missed injured guard Mark Nonoy and later lost CJ Austria, who was ejected at the 5:59 mark of the third period for hitting Tamaraws swingman Patrick Sleat on the head.

Still, La Salle rebounded from last Wednesday’s shock 74-81 loss to University of the East that happened days after beating fable rival Ateneo.

“We didn’t take care of things last Wednesday, so it was really a good bounce back today. I was telling the guys that I expect them to come out smoking,” said Green Archers mentor Derrick Pumaren.

Schonny Winston, who produced MVP-like numbers of 23 points, 14 rebounds, five steals and five assists in 34 minutes of action, was in the zone for La Salle, which led by as much as 31 points.

“It was a good one for our team. We definitely needed it, especially we are trying to get our momentum back and get things going again,” said Winston.

The Tamaraws, who were led by Ljay Gonzales’ 15 points, nine boards, eight assists and five steals, stumbled to 0-5, their worst start in the Final Four era.

The scores:

First game

DLSU (87) — Winston 23, Quiambao 16, Manuel 14, Nelle 8, Austria 7, Nwankwo 6, Estacio 5, Cortez 4, B. Phillips 2, Abadam 2.
FEU (70) — Gonzales 16, Sajonia 15, Sleat 12, Torres 10, Bagunu 8, Tchuente 3, Tempra 2, Ona 2, Añonuevo 1, Celzo 1, Alforque 0, Sandagon 0.
Quarterscores: 18-10, 50-25, 74-49, 87-70

Second game

NU (58) — Clemente 14, Baclaan 8, Malonzo 7, Figueroa 7, Enriquez 7, Yu 7, Manansala 2, Tibayan 2, John 2, Galinato 2, Padrones 0, Mahinay 0, Minerva 0, Palacielo 0.
AdU (54) — Manzano 12, Lastimosa 11, Douanga 9, Yerro 7, Colonia 4, Hanapi 4, Jaymalin 3, V. Magbuhos 2, Torres 2, W. Magbuhos 0, Fuentebella 0, Barcelona 0, Flowers 0.
Quarterscores: 11-11, 28-25, 41-35, 58-54